The pictures are dramatic — a camera at the North Pole Environmental Observatory, sitting in the middle of what appears to be either a lake or open ocean, at the height of the summer sea ice melt season. Set against the backdrop of the precipitous decline in sea ice cover in recent decades due in large part to global warming, this would seem to be yet another alarming sign of Arctic climate change. Image from one of the North Pole Environmental Observatory webcams, taken on Thursday, July 25.Credit: NSF's North Pole Environmental Observatory. These images have attracted media attention, such as this AtlanticWire post and this Daily Mail story, both of which portray the images as potential signs of an intensifying Arctic meltdown.But before concluding that Arctic climate change has entered an even more ominous phase, it’s important to examine the context behind these images.First, the cameras in question, which are attached to instruments that scientists have deposited on the sea ice at the start of each spring since 2002, may have “North Pole” in their name, but they are no longer located at the North Pole. In fact, as this map below shows, they have drifted well south of the North Pole, since they sit atop sea ice floes that move along with ocean currents. Currently, the waterlogged camera is near the prime meridian, at 85 degrees north latitude. Annotated map showing the location of the North Pole and the location of the buoys with the webcams.Credit: NSF's North Pole Environmental Observatory. “It’s moved away from the North Pole region and it will eventually exit Fram Strait,” said Mark Serreze, the director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colo., in an interview. Fram Strait lies between Greenland and Norway, and is one of the main routes for sea ice to get flushed out of the Arctic Ocean.The second thing to keep in mind is that melting sea ice at or near the North Pole is actually not a rare event. Observations from the webcams dating back to 2002, and from satellite imagery and nuclear-powered submarines that have explored the ice cover since the Cold War era dating back several decades, show that sea ice around the North Pole has formed melt ponds, and even areas of open water, several times in the past.The webcam depicting what seems like open water is most likely “just sitting in a big melt pond” that has formed on top of the sea ice cover, Serreze said. This melt pond started forming around July 10, and is likely close to its peak depth and extent. The occurrence of a melt pond at or near the North Pole is “just not that unusual,” Serreze said, and is even less rare at a more southern location such as where the camera is now.“The whole Arctic sea ice cover does show melt during summer even at the North Pole,” he said, speaking of a typical melt season.Serreze said it’s usually possible to walk through these melt ponds with hip boot waders on, as opposed to having to swim, since there is ice underneath the meltwater.

Video of images taken by the North Pole Environmental Observatory webcam during the 2013 melt season. (The pond starts to appear at 1:25.)James Overland, a researcher at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told Climate Central in an email that the melt pond does seem unusually large compared to what is typically observed in a melt season, though. “We have extensive melt ponds every year, but I do not remember such an extensive lake in previous years. The lake is more a product of how the ice was configured earlier in the year,” he said.Walt Meier, a research scientist at the NSIDC, said the lake's apparently large size may be the result of snowfall totals this winter and other factors. "The pool seems rather larger than normal, but that could likely be simply due to factors other than the temperature: how much snow fell on the area over the winter (more winter snow = more melted snow), the topography of the ice (little hills and valleys in the ice causing the water to pool in certain regions), etc.," Meier said in an email. Arctic sea ice cover has been rapidly shrinking and thinning since the start of satellite observations in 1979. Last year, sea ice extent and volume plunged to a record low. When the melt season finally ended in late September, the Arctic Ocean managed to hold onto less than half of the average sea ice extent seen during the 1979-to-2000 period.The past six years have had the six smallest sea ice extents since 1979, indicating that the ice has not recovered from the previous record low in 2007. Researchers attribute this to the loss of thicker multiyear ice, which has been replaced by thinner ice that forms in the fall and melts in the spring and summer.Serreze said the thinness of the ice cover has made it much more susceptible to weather patterns that promote ice transport and melting. So far this summer, sea ice extent has tracked above that of 2012, with a slow rate of ice melt in June followed by much more rapid melting during the first three weeks of July after weather patterns became more favorable for melting, Serreze said.“I would be extremely surprised if we were not” well below average come September, Serreze said, but the prospect of setting another record low “depends on the vagaries of the weather, and we just can’t predict that.”

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything! ""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell "Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan" Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan "An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan "Without the Second Amendment there is no First Amendment...or Third or Fourth or Fifth....or 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th or 27th!" - Logan Peace is not the Absence of War. Peace is the Absence of the Opportunity for War. True Peace comes through Superior Firepower. - Logan

I guess you could call the Arctic Sea a lake. You'd be an Idiot, but that has never stopped them before.

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything! ""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell "Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan" Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan "An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan "Without the Second Amendment there is no First Amendment...or Third or Fourth or Fifth....or 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th or 27th!" - Logan Peace is not the Absence of War. Peace is the Absence of the Opportunity for War. True Peace comes through Superior Firepower. - Logan

North Pole Sees Unprecedented July Cold – Arctic Sees Shortest Summer On Record — ‘Normally the high Arctic has about 90 days above freezing. This year there was less than half that’

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything! ""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell "Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan" Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan "An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan "Without the Second Amendment there is no First Amendment...or Third or Fourth or Fifth....or 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th or 27th!" - Logan Peace is not the Absence of War. Peace is the Absence of the Opportunity for War. True Peace comes through Superior Firepower. - Logan

I was in southern Brazil last week. Spent a week freezing my you-know-what's off.

And it is supposed to be mid summer!

We serioously need more of that global warming we have been promised.

PS: Love the quotes!

Everyone should know that when it's summer in the northern hemisphere it's winter in the southern hemisphere, but it seems some people don't know that. But that's besides the point. If you had taken just a moment to look up the climate of Brazil you'd soon learn that that country has five different climate regions. Did you know that? You said you where in the south and knowing what I know now because I looked up the climates of Brazil and you did not, tells me that the temperatures you experienced were normal or near normal for that area of the country during Brazil's winter season.

P.S. As climate change skeptics conclude with great misunderstanding global warming doesn't mean the global temperature all over rise uniformly to a toasty warmth.

I was in southern Brazil last week. Spent a week freezing my you-know-what's off.

And it is supposed to be mid summer!

We serioously need more of that global warming we have been promised.

PS: Love the quotes!

Everyone should know that when it's summer in the northern hemisphere it's winter in the southern hemisphere, but it seems some people don't know that. But that's besides the point. If you had taken just a moment to look up the climate of Brazil you'd soon learn that that country has five different climate regions. Did you know that? You said you where in the south and knowing what I know now because I looked up the climates of Brazil and you did not, tells me that the temperatures you experienced were normal or near normal for that area of the country during Brazil's winter season.

P.S. As climate change skeptics conclude with great misunderstanding global warming doesn't mean the global temperature all over rise uniformly to a toasty warmth.

Much as it horrifies me to admit it, it seems that you are right about Brazil.

I travel a lot and frequently end up in places that I can't even find on a map. So where is Brazil anyway?

So assuming you are right and it is winter there, I wonder why were all the locals complaining that they had never experienced it so cold? Also, some of them said that they had seen snow last week, for the first time in their lives.

Anyway, the next time I am there I will ask them about that. In the meantime, I have add buying an atlas to my list of things to do.

I was in southern Brazil last week. Spent a week freezing my you-know-what's off.

And it is supposed to be mid summer!

We serioously need more of that global warming we have been promised.

PS: Love the quotes!

Everyone should know that when it's summer in the northern hemisphere it's winter in the southern hemisphere, but it seems some people don't know that. But that's besides the point. If you had taken just a moment to look up the climate of Brazil you'd soon learn that that country has five different climate regions. Did you know that? You said you where in the south and knowing what I know now because I looked up the climates of Brazil and you did not, tells me that the temperatures you experienced were normal or near normal for that area of the country during Brazil's winter season.

P.S. As climate change skeptics conclude with great misunderstanding global warming doesn't mean the global temperature all over rise uniformly to a toasty warmth.

Much as it horrifies me to admit it, it seems that you are right about Brazil.

I travel a lot and frequently end up in places that I can't even find on a map. So where is Brazil anyway?

So assuming you are right and it is winter there, I wonder why were all the locals complaining that they had never experienced it so cold? Also, some of them said that they had seen snow last week, for the first time in their lives.

Anyway, the next time I am there I will ask them about that. In the meantime, I have add buying an atlas to my list of things to do.

Thank you for dispelling my ignorance.

I am surprised and at a loss for words.

As for the cold and snow the weather does odd things. If this is just one odd occurrence it means nothing, but if it becomes the norm then it can be attributed to climate change.

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything! ""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell "Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan" Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan "An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan "Without the Second Amendment there is no First Amendment...or Third or Fourth or Fifth....or 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th or 27th!" - Logan Peace is not the Absence of War. Peace is the Absence of the Opportunity for War. True Peace comes through Superior Firepower. - Logan

Not a single person showed up at the Georgetown waterfront Tuesday for a climate change agenda event put on by Organizing for Action, the shadowy nonprofit advocacy group born out of President Obama’s 2012 campaign, the NRCC wrote in its blog.The event page for the “Climate Change Day of Action Rally” disappeared after rainy weather appeared to drive away whatever people planned to attend. The embarrassing showing follows the news that only one volunteer stayed for an OFA Obamacare event in Centreville, Va., last week to work the phones:

Priceless!

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything! ""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell "Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan" Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan "An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan "Without the Second Amendment there is no First Amendment...or Third or Fourth or Fifth....or 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th or 27th!" - Logan Peace is not the Absence of War. Peace is the Absence of the Opportunity for War. True Peace comes through Superior Firepower. - Logan

The people who think the seas will rise and drown us all never watched Mr. Wizard.........

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything! ""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell "Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan" Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan "An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan "Without the Second Amendment there is no First Amendment...or Third or Fourth or Fifth....or 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th or 27th!" - Logan Peace is not the Absence of War. Peace is the Absence of the Opportunity for War. True Peace comes through Superior Firepower. - Logan

The people who think the seas will rise and drown us all never watched Mr. Wizard.........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKiq5EwkzDg

Loved Mr. Wizard when I was growing up but I see you only learned half of the story. While this demonstration is correct your conclusion derived from this demonstration is incorrect. You have not considered the water still frozen on land. When that flows into the ocean it will raise sea levels worldwide [which have risen]. You can do a demo of this yourself. Do what Mr. wizard just did but this time continue to add water to the glass of ice and water. The glass of water represents all of the frozen water on land and it melting into the ocean. What do you think will happen?

I'm not going to get into an argument with you about a phony Government and "Scientist" Graft scheme based on the rings of one tree in Siberia that can't even be peer reviewed because the Crooks at East Anglia University burned all the "evidence" (If there was any to begin with), and has a Messiah with a carbon footprint even bigger than his BAD_WORD.

It's a crock of crap floating in a sea of feces and it always has been.

http://www.climatede...m-of-researche/Warmists Now ‘Blame the Volcanoes’ Global-Warming ‘Pause’: ‘Since 2000, volcanic aerosols increased their heat-blocking ability by between 4% and 7%, according to the study from a team of researchers at NASA & NOAA’

http://www.climatede...ince-the-1960s/Flashback 2008 Study: ‘Lack of observed [volcanic] dust in atmosphere could be responsible for as much as .18 to .36 degrees F rise (about 1/3rd) in avg. temp since the 1960s’

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything! ""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell "Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan" Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan "An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan "Without the Second Amendment there is no First Amendment...or Third or Fourth or Fifth....or 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th or 27th!" - Logan Peace is not the Absence of War. Peace is the Absence of the Opportunity for War. True Peace comes through Superior Firepower. - Logan

So using Warmer "Logic" we should be dying of heat prostration right about now.....

You mean the global cooling that happened after Krakatoa actually happened? And there were no SUVs to stop it from happening? Oh, the Humanity!

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything! ""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell "Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan" Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan "An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan "Without the Second Amendment there is no First Amendment...or Third or Fourth or Fifth....or 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th or 27th!" - Logan Peace is not the Absence of War. Peace is the Absence of the Opportunity for War. True Peace comes through Superior Firepower. - Logan

A spell of extreme cold weather has brought ice and snow to much of Argentina, killing at least nine.

The only difference between Socialism and National Socialism is the snappy uniforms. - Logan "Aside from ending Slavery, Fascism and Communist World Domination, War has never solved anything! ""For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute! But it's "Savior of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."---George Orwell "Always Remember-All Lessons in Life are Expensive.....and the last one costs you everything you have." - Logan" Socialism is just Communism without a Dictator....and you can always find a Dictator!" - Logan "An Armed Man is a Citizen. An Unarmed Man is a Subject. Subject to anything anyone wants to do to him." - Logan "Without the Second Amendment there is no First Amendment...or Third or Fourth or Fifth....or 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th or 27th!" - Logan Peace is not the Absence of War. Peace is the Absence of the Opportunity for War. True Peace comes through Superior Firepower. - Logan